Good Bye Liberty Belle

By Steve Benton ( Contact ) June 15, 2011

The final flight of the "Liberty Belle" makes me sad, but happy I wasn't along for the ride. Although the crew of the restored B-17 bomber escaped serious injury Monday morning, the vintage plane was destroyed by fire after an emergency landing in a farmers field in the Chicago area.

It was on its way to an airport for a show when one of the four engines developed a fire. It was also scheduled to give rides to local reporters, a common practice at air shows. I had the honor of flying in two similar B-17's, the "Nine O Nine" and "Aluminum Overcast" while covering air shows in this area. One of the flights was short, just a big circle around Rock County. The other one was much longer and included a B-24, the other work horse bomber during World War II. I flew in the B-17, and was able to take video of the B-24 in flight along side us. The flight was from Truax Field in Madison to the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport in Janesville and included a "fly by" both at Truax and at our local airport, which lengthened the time in the air.

As I boarded those old war birds, thoughts of mechanical or other problems crossed my mind, but they were ignored in exchange for the thrill of flying in those historic aircraft. I probably would have said "yes" if I had been asked to fly with the "Liberty Belle" too.

fschultz
Jul 19, 2011 at 12:17 a.m.
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They're still flying planes that were old when I was in the USAF over 30 years ago. These bombers are much older, of course. Hats off to the craftsmen who keep 'em going.

LibertyBelle
Jun 22, 2011 at 11:10 a.m.
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WHAT?????
I just signed up for enjoy the chatter.

sbenton
Jun 16, 2011 at 3:03 a.m.
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Thanks for the suggestion... and you're right, it was a thrill. I have flown in a Huey!!! For many years my goal was to fly in as many different types of aircraft as possible. The list is long.

orange
Jun 15, 2011 at 11:19 p.m.
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Steve...want a real thrill ? Take a ride in a chopper that was used in Viet Nam, there's nothing like it in the world.

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